And while we’re on the subject of “Sold Out,”I thought I’d address two recent complaints I’ve recently received about the book.

The first and most serious one concerned the Nazi “SS” symbol on Nick’s chest.

Well, the Nazi “SS” symbol isn’t something I made up. I had a buddy who I served with in 3rd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, who later became a Scout Sniper two years after I met him and got to know him really well. (This was roughly in 1997.) One day, a bunch of my friends were circled around him following his completion of Scout Sniper training and I walked up to see what was causing the commotion. Turns out, he had a Nazi “SS” symbol burned into his chest, exactly like Nick Woods in the book. (Same location, same terrifying font.)

My friend told me it had been burned into his chest with a coat hanger just a couple of days earlier.

When I said, “Man, do you know what that symbol is?,” he answered me with pretty much the exact dialogue that you find in the book. (In short, that it was not about the Nazi connotation but about the strength, quality, and pride portrayed by the German Army in WW II.)

My friend also said that all Scout Snipers got one burned into their chest. (At least at that time.)

Furthermore, I know of several Marine Scout Snipers who have read this book and given me feedback who have served since 1999 (when I got out) and none of them have mentioned the Nazi “SS” symbol scene, so I’m assuming it still happens. (Otherwise, I’m certain these men who provided me feedback would have said, “Bro, no one burns a Nazi SS symbol into their chest anymore…”)

I say all this just to provide some context and show where I’m coming from as the author. It’s not like I had some wild-haired fancy idea to put a verycontroversial thing into the book.

The burned “SS” symbol on Nick’s chest is like every other thing in the book. It’s part of either something I experienced while I served, learned from two of my best friends who went through Scout Sniper school, or researched and documented in the dozens of sniper books I’ve read over the past 15 years.

I’d also like to address why Nick is so unlikable.

Obviously, Nick really is jacked up in the head… He’s about as messed up as they come. Not only does he have PTSD, but he has higher than normal levels of paranoia because he was literally sold out by the government that he trusted.

And given that he’s killed a hundred plus guys in a series of missions he can’t talk about, he’s not your typical vet. He’s a dangerous animal that you don’t want to set off.

No, he’s not like some likable Hollywood character. Instead, he’s precisely like many vets you’ll meet in the real world.

And if I’m totally honest, I’d have to admit this: I wrote much of “Sold Out” right after my exit from the Marine Corps, when I was dealing with some serious paranoia and had spent the better part of four years fixated on the multitude of ways to kill people.

I was in a dark place, and I suppose the book reveals it.

Just as Nick Woods gets into a major fight with his wife over his paranoid thoughts and preparations for an attack on his home, I, too, dealt with that. Nick got caught with a gun under his sink and a secret journal full of suspected people following him.

I got into a major fight with my wife because I was unscrewing the electrical outlets in my home, convinced after a weird interaction at the mall — which I thought was with a CIA agent– that everything I said in the home was being listened to by the federal government. (This was in 1999 or 2000, waybefore the days of the NSA being in the news for listening and reading to every single thing that we say. Hi, NSA.)

My point is that the Nick Woods in “Sold Out” is far more real than you probably ever want to imagine.

We prefer images of soldiers and Marines returning home with a smile, hugging wives and kids and wrapped in the flag. We don’t want to think about those same men taking different routes to work, being startled in their sleep and seizing their wives neck, or nearly taking a dude out in the mall who approaches them twice with some weird comments.

But the veterans who have actually been through a lot are like that. They have wire triggers, they’re alert, and you don’t want to startle them. (Just ask one of my friends.)

And while many of you will say, “But, Stan, you’re so nice. This is all hard to believe,” you need to know that the Stan you see now is notthe Stan you would have seen right after I got out. (And the Stan you see now is still half-crazy, lol!)

Love you guys. Thanks for all the support. Both of books continue to sell better and better and I owe each and every one of you greatly. (And, yes, “Mexican Heat” is still in final edits and get closer and closer to being published every day!)

If you enjoy fast-paced books, you just might like my works. “Sold Out” tracks the life of a legendary Marine Sniper after a CIA unit decides to kill him for reasons of national security. “Little Man, and the Dixon County War” tells the uphill fight a young deputy faces after finding himself in the sights of a mighty cattle baron. And “Soldier On,” a short novel, follows the lives of several German soldiers in a depleted infantry company trying to make it through the final, miserable months of World War II.

4 responses to “What’s with the Nazi “SS” symbol on Nick’s chest? And why is he so unlikable?”

To many Americans know anything about history. The SS symbol of
the Nazi was Ss in the shape of lighting bolts should not be copied. It
didn’t stand for scout sniper.The Waffen-SS was made up of three subgroups: the Leibstandarte, Hitler’s personal bodyguard; the Totenkopfverbände (Death’s-Head Battalions), which administered the concentration camps and a vast empire of slave labour drawn from the Jews and the populations of the occupied territories; and the Verfügungstruppen (Disposition Troops), which swelled to 39 divisions in World War II and which, serving as elite combat troops alongside the regular army, gained a reputation as fanatical fighters.

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